Shadows of Destiny

46 A Difficult Request

~Tamia~

Morning came, and Sylvester and I got ready for breakfast.

It was going to be a busy day, but I was not feeling up to it.

I was a bit tired even though we didn’t do anything and I had just woken up from sleep.

I did not think much of it and just got ready quietly.

Once we were done getting ready, we went to the dining room to have breakfast.

Everyone was there as always, and we ate in silence.

What happened with Dominic had brought gloom into our lives. I hoped the

matter was solved quickly.

I prayed it did not linger because we all deserved better.

Our love was still young; we were still getting to know each other and trying to manoeuvre through our

differences to accept them and make it work. This

matter needed to be solved as soon as possible.

“Tamia will be accompanying us to question Dominic and Larry,” Sylvester announced, and Marcel

nodded.

“I want Avery to come with us too,” Marcel said, and Sylvester didn’t seem okay with it, but he did not

complain.

Theodore requested to bring Linda along, and I touched Sylvester’s lap to stop him from making a

scene.

I could not really eat, so I just pushed my

food about the plate picking the bits and stalling for breakfast to be over.

We finished, and Sylvester decided to go to the cells on the property to question Dominic.

As we moved towards the place, I remembered when Dominic attacked my friends and me and locked

us up because of councilwoman Jenny’s death and the attack on his mother.

I was still baffled why the attackers spared Stephanie’s life. It really didn’t add up. 1

When we got there, we noticed Dominic outside his cell in chains standing with some officers.

“What is going on here?” Sylvester

growled. He was angry.

“What is the council task force doing

here?” he asked, and the men saluted him

and bowed their heads immediately.

“Your eminence, the council has ordered

that we move him to the council prison,” One of them said.

“Under whose orders and why?” Sylvester asked.

“It was a collective decision by all council members. The act of treason is judged and punished by the

council,” The man said and handed Sylvester a paper.

Sylvester did not bother to read the piece of paper. He just tore it.

“Out of my house now!” he ordered them, and they shook; even I shook because there was an

authority in his voice.

We let them leave, and Sylvester’s Kappas ushered Dominic to a room.

We followed, and as soon as Dominic sat

down, he looked at Sylvester.

“What would you gain in this? You already have it all. Why lock me up? First, your woman threatened

mother to keep me at home, and now I am being tried for treason. What happened to you,

Sylvester? We used to fight, but nothing like this,” He said with disbelief, and I could see he was

genuinely hurt.

“It stopped being fair when you decided to forge my signature and seal and send Bryce to stir up shit in

the east. You knew the development tax issue was false, yet you still chose to use that same method to

cause trouble for me. Why?” Sylvester asked him, and he looked at me.

“Do not look at Tamia; focus on me,

Dominic. I need to know why you would actively work against me,” he said, and Dominic’s eyes welled

up with tears.

down, he looked at Sylvester.

“What would you gain in this? You already have it all. Why lock me up? First, your woman threatened

mother to keep me at home, and now I am being tried for treason. What happened to you,

Sylvester? We used to fight, but nothing like this,” He said with disbelief, and I could see he was

genuinely hurt.

“It stopped being fair when you decided to forge my signature and seal and send Bryce to stir up shit in

the east. You knew the development tax issue was false, yet you still chose to use that same method to

cause trouble for me. Why?” Sylvester asked him, and he looked at me.

“Do not look at Tamia; focus on me, Dominic. I need to know why you would actively work against me,”

he said, and Dominic’s eyes welled up with tears.

“If I tell you my truth, would you believe me?” Dominic asked, and Sylvester did not respond. 3

“Answer me!” Sylvester growled at his brother. The pressure was overwhelming, making me nauseous,

but I held it. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, and my vision was a bit blurry, but I tried to keep it

together.

“I did not give anything to Bryce. He is lying against me, Sylvester. Mother asked me before she left to

get help, and I told her the same thing. I did not do this. I have never given Bryce anything or sent him

on an errand before. I was stunned when I was arrested, and his name came up as my accomplice.”

Dominic said to his brother.

“Why would Bryce lie against you?”

Sylvester asked, and Dominic looked at

1.

“She wants to be rid of me. Can’t you see what she is doing? Mother told me how you treated her and

insulted her because of this woman. Did it ever occur to you that she and her so-called ex might be

trying to divide the strength of the north? Bryce might have collected money or something from Leo and

Bane to do this. They need a reason to go to war. They might have done this to try to create the

opportunity to attack. Do you not think it is weird she would just fall in love with you and want to spend

the rest of her life with you? All three of you are blind. You destroyed their homes and took them away

from their mates. No matter how fucked up their marriage situation was, you can’t dispute that they

loved their mates. Do not let them turn you against your people, Sylvester. I might be a douchebag, and

you and I might not see

eye to eye on many things, but I did not do this. I did not send Bryce anywhere. I

do not know why he will speak my name “Dominic said and bowed.

“Your explanation isn’t good enough for me, Dominic. I will give you time to think about things, and then

I will return. If you do not tell me the truth, I will hand you over to the council and wash my hands off the

case,” Sylvester told him calmly.

“Mother was right when she said she needed to go get help because she

doubted you would help me, since your woman controls you now,” Dominic said, looking at me

scornfully.

“Matter of fact, she is right. I am a fool for my mate, and it will always be that way. You are lucky she

isn’t evil or

vindictive. You wouldn’t have been here if that was the case,” Sylvester told

Dominic, and tears streamed down

Dominic’s face.

“I didn’t do this, little brother. I swear on my wolf and everything I hold dear that I did not do this.

Someone or some people are trying to set me up. Please do not let them win,” he pleaded with

Sylvestre in tears, and somehow I suspected the man was telling the truth.

It broke my heart to see them like this.

I decided I would come and speak to him alone.

“Let us go,” Sylvester said and turned his back.

“Please, Sylvester, I am begging you,” Dominic said in tears.

“The punishment of treason is death. I didn’t do this,” he pleaded, and I placed a hand over Sylvester’s

shoulder.

“You can’t leave him here unprotected.

He could be telling the truth. If he is, the culprits might try to finish the job,” I linked him, and Sylvester

looked at me. His eyes lingered on me, and he looked at Dominic and then at Marcel.

“Lock him in a protection cell,” He ordered Marcel and led me out.

I noticed we were heading for the exit, and Marcel and Theodore were not behind us. 1

“where are we going?” I asked Sylvester.

“To see Larry,” he said, and I shook my head.

“I doubt it will yield anything,” I said, and he frowned.

“We are at a dead end. I need to know who is who in this, Tamia. My reputation and the peace of our

world are at stake here,” He said, and I pulled him close to

I could feel his panic.

“Let us speak in private, please,” I

pleaded with him.

He agreed, and we returned inside and

headed to our bedroom.

The moment we entered, I went to sit on the couch because I was tired.

“Like I said, Sylvester, this might be a wild goose chase. Either to throw us off or keep us occupied. I do

not think Dominic did it. I do not like your brother, but I doubt he is lying. If he is telling the truth, it

means Bryce is compromised. Focus more on Bryce to get real information. At the same time, Avery,

Linda, and I will visit Brighton,” I said, and his eyes widened.

He shook his head immediately.

“I can’t let you go to Brighton. That

journey is for Theodore and Vino to make “he said, and I shook my head.

“You need to be tactful with these things. Brighton hates the north, and they see you as a menace; the

last thing you need is to send northern elites there. They won’t cooperate, and they won’t be receptive.

But people like Avery, Linda and me will be well received because they might feel we have something

in

common. We had both suffered the

northern brutality even though we are to be married soon; it wouldn’t matter,” I said, and he shook his

head.

“I can’t let you or your friends go there,”

he said, and I got angry.

“Can’t or won’t, Sylvester?” I asked, and he refused to answer.

“I thought you said we weren’t prisoners here anymore,” I said, and he was

slightly annoyed.

“Don’t put it like that, Tamia,” he said.

“I won’t let you go to a part of the west close to the south. You will be close to Bane’s region and

Leonardo,” he said, sounding possessive, and I realised his fear, so I stood up and went to him.

“If it weren’t for your tradition and the necessity of the blue moon for the claim to be complete,

Sylvester, I would have asked you to claim me right now,” I said and placed my head against his chest.

“I can never go back to Leo, and there isn’t anything between Bane and me. Please, Sylvester. I

promise I will return. I just want you to succeed. That is why I am doing this,” I said, pleading with him,

and he lifted my chin and searched my eyes.

“I love you, Sylvester. I can’t run queu

from you,” I said, and I could see the

difficulty in his eyes. He was trying to figure out what to do. 1

“You know I am telling the truth. We are

the only ones that the people of Brighton

would receive and open up to. We need to

solve this matter before it gets out of

hand. We can’t wait until the culprit does.

something that will be unstoppable,” I

told him, and he held me to his chest and

squeezed me.

“I will let you do this,” he said with difficulty, “but please come back home to

me, Tamia. I do not know why Bane is after you, but Brighton shares a border

with Bane. You have to promise you will

return no matter what. You have to

promise that you won’t run away. You

have to promise you won’t decide to let

me go out of fear that we are not fated. You have to promise to come back to me.

If you don’t, I will go crazy and burn the world, Tamia. If you do not come home, I will become the

monster people believe me to be because you would have left with my soul. Promise me you will return

to me.” He said; I wrapped my arms around him and held on tightly, tears streaming down my face. 3

I had no intention of running away, but with what he said, I had to ensure that I

returned.

“I cannot imagine a life without you, Sylvester. I promise I won’t run away. I chose to love you, I chose

to be with you, and I hope to spend the rest of my life with you. Nothing will change that. I won’t get to

where Bane is, and once we get the information we need, we will return. To be safe, I promise not to

spend more than three days in Brighton because

We would question the pack mombeve tes

Whether we get answers or not, we will return on the third day,” I assured him, and he kissed my

forehead.

“Secret guards will accompany you to protect you,” he said, and I thanked him.

It was necessary to know what happened with Brighton to solve this case, and we were the only ones

we could trust to do a thorough job.